With Japan,India and China destined to contribute significantly as centre of growth in these days of severe global recession,stage is also set for these countries to play a world leadership role which could also harmonise their relations and strategic concerns. H.E. Hideaki Domichi, Ambassador of Japan to India in an exclusive interview to Arti Bali speaks of Japan favouring India’s permanent seat in UNSC and its proper representation in various UN bodies and other institutions .
Excerpts:
. Q Will Japan support for India’s permanent seat in UN?.
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A Certainly we have teamed up India, Japan, Germany and Brazil-to push forward for reform of UN and UNSC. I think that India is recognized by the international community to play bigger role globally both in terms of economy and policies. We are in agreement with India that there ought to be UN reforms to make it more workable to address the various issues the world is faced with..
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. Q India is a huge market with strong fundamentals and sound business traditions. How do you see the scope of an enhanced Japan’s investment and cooperation in this country? ..
A We recognize India as a huge and potential market. In fact Japanese Direct Investment into India has grown rapidly in recent years. The investment from Japan has tripled in the year 2007. Despite economic slowdown, Japanese believe that Indian market will remain unaffected. As India soon emerges as one of the biggest economies, they believe that India offers great potential and opportunities to the Japanese companies. ..
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Q How about scientific and technological collaboration between India and Japan to check climate change in same sort? ..
. A There is lots of interests from Indian business in Japanese environmental technologies, for instance solar energies or super critical technologies for power stations. We are also trying to introduce energy efficient technologies and promote research to convert Indian coal to a more environmentally friendly energy source. .
. . Q How do you view N Korea’s recent missile launch, especially in terms of military balance in the Pacific region? ..
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A North Korea Missile launch was a clear violation of the UN Security Council’s resolution 1696 and 1718, which stipulate that DPRK shall suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program. The missile launch was also a threat to Japan as its trajectory was intended to be over the territory of Japan. Therefore we have deployed the missile defense system in case of the failure of the launch in cooperation with US. Any upgrading of these missile technologies by DPRK can also be a threat to other countries. Therefore after the missile launch, UNSC agreed to condemn the launch and called the DPRK to observe the successive resolutions. We also want the DPRK to return to the six-party talks and relinquish any nuclear or missile related programme. ..
. Q China has initiated a move aimed at replacing the role of dollar as an international currency as manifested in SDR (Special Drawing Rights) and also seeking alternative baskets of currencies ultimately aimed at replacing dollar. What is your response in this regard? ..
. A You may remember the recent G-20 summit in London where they agreed to create the SDR of $250 billion in order to increase the international liquidity. Out of this $250 billion, $100 billion will be distributed to the emerging economy as well as developing countries. But this does not mean SDR will replace dollar, because any allocation of SDR to a specific country can be made through arrangements to borrow the dollar reserve from a country that has accumulated the foreign exchange particularly in dollars. The SDR in our view cannot replace dollar as a means of international settlement. ..
. Q Do you view any concerns about the expanded role sought by China in ADB, IMF and the World Bank and other institutional bodies? .
A In the G20 summit, it was agreed to increase the voices as well as the representations of the emerging economies. In ADB there will be 200% general capital increase. In IMF probably the quota will be reviewed by 2011.Therefore under the broad agreement we expect China as well as India to press for increased representations in those international Organizations. This is subject to negotiations and we expect very serious and hard negotiations ahead. .
Q What is present thinking about the revision of your constitution given the changing military balance in the region? .
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A Well, a law has been passed recently to specify the procedures to amend our constitution but this does not mean that Japan is changing its constitution, particularly on the clauses which we call Art -9 that Japan relinquishes the use of force as a means of settlement of international disputes. . .
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Q There is rising piracy near the Somalian Coast, What is Japan’s response to this menace? .
. A This is a serious issue. We know that the ships going through this area have been attacked and the crew have been taken as hostages and huge ransom money is demanded. The Japanese ships are also being targeted. We have sent two destroyers to the area concerned and will soon add a surveillance aircraft to cover the wider area .This is the vast area of the seas so it is not easy to detect the piracy and take measures. A bill is now being presented to our parliament to legally authorize our Defense Forces to be deployed in that area and make our operations more effective. ..
. Q How will Japan support India in NSG? ..
A US-India civil nuclear deal was endorsed by IAEA and NSG and as a member of these institutions, we supported the decision but this is an exception due to India’s unique position. It was because India’s commitment for non-proliferation as well as necessity of expansion of role of civil nuclear facility facing increasing demands of electricity and environmental problems. It was a clear exception of NPT. We recognize the nuclear deal with US is at the stages of operationalisation. In order to make this a reality there are some steps that India ought to take i.e. separation of military and civilian facilities. India has to present this to IAEA. Therefore I think the progress will be made on those measures that India has committed to. Also there is an interest whether nuclear liability law will pass the parliament after the general election. ..
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Q How do you visualize China’s rise as economic power? ..
A I believe in a decade or so China will become global economic power, in the meantime we expect India will become large economy as well. As you know India’s economy is as large as economy of the whole ASEAN countries already .In Asia we have three biggest economies India, Japan and China. ..
Q Do you approve the economic integration of India, China and Japan? ..
A Here in India, we often hear the argument about China’s role. However, it seems to me that the area for cooperation is also expanding as both India and China need each other and for their co-prosperity. The creation of Asian order that can allow the co-prosperity to exist could be the best scenario. When it comes to individual issues we see differences and even seeds of conflict. It depends on how the leaderships can manage it. Integration of economies will generally serve to alleviate any potential conflict. ..
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Q. You mean to say that integration of economy will serve the purpose of addressing security concerns? ..
A Not automatically, talking about the security, one has to consider the worst. That is the mentality of the security arrangements. Confidence Building measures are sometimes required. On the other hand, the more economic integration progress which involves the movement of the people, the more difficult will it be for a country to escalate conflict. ..
. Q. In comparison to President Bush, President Obama has adopted the re engagement policy in South Asia, What are your views? ..
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A We support the initiatives taken by the new President of the United States. Although we may not be able to expect a quick result, the will of engagement by the United States can make it easier for other countries to follow the step. . Updated : Tuesday, 05 May 2009, 14:31
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